Shower Door Archives - Page 2 of 5

Trend Alert: Matte Black Grid Door

Posted on April 4, 2022April 4, 2022 by Emily Watkins

Shower of the Week: Gridworks bypass sliding unit with matte black finish in Frederick, Maryland

This grid shower door we recently installed in Frederick, Maryland is doubly on trend! Grid showers and matte black hardware are both having a moment, and we love it.

Expert Advice: Matte Black Trend

The doors we install are actually from the second generation of the grid shower door movement. Early grid showers had small rectangular panes of glass welded together with metal framing. The look was was an immediate hit, especially in urban areas with uber-contemporary design trends. The units sold like hot cakes, but they were ghastly expensive!

Other manufacturers have found better, less expensive ways to accomplish the same look. We source ours from Century Bathworks in New Jersey. By using a single piece of glass with thin grid framing adhered to it, Century is able to provide this trendy matte black look at a fraction of the cost of its competitors.

Matte black hardware is, in general, also having a moment. Oil rubbed bronze finishes are also popular, but their tone can run the gamut from super dark to super light. It’s definitely easier to pair black with black versus two different oil rubbed bronze finishes from two different manufacturers.

If you’re interested in this trend, get in touch! We’re happy to start chatting about what would work for your unique shower space. You can also get the ball rolling with a free quote. We also post more shower door pics and fun bonus photos on Facebook and Instagram.

Steamy & Dreamy in Shippensburg

Posted on March 13, 2022March 23, 2022 by Emily Watkins

Shower Door of the Week: Steam Unit in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania

When the field experts emailed me this pic, the subject line was “Steamy & Dreamy.” Accurate! We haven’t shared a steam unit in awhile, so let’s review some basics. #1: steam is amazing. It’s fabulous for your muscles, skin, and sinuses. (Anyone else experiencing spring allergies right now?)

Steam units require tall glass. And custom glass is what we do! This unit is 72″ tall with an 8″ transom. Keeping steam inside the unit is the ultimate goal, of course, but it’s also important to be able to breathe. The operable transom at the top of the door opens to let some steam out.

Expert Schuyler thought it was also important to note: “Coffee mugs in bottom left not included with the purchase of a shower door.” But how relaxing would it be to sit in the steam with a steaming cup of tea or coffee??

If you’re intrigued by the idea of adding a steam unit to your home, please do get in touch with any design questions. We’re always pleased to geek out about design and get you a free quote. You can also follow along on Facebook and Instagram for design inspiration.

Upgrade in Adamstown: Centec Dual Slider

Posted on January 26, 2022 by Emily Watkins

Shower Door of the Week: Centec Dual Slider with Chrome Finish in Adamstown, Maryland

Ready for an upgrade but don’t need every single bell and whistle? Our Centec dual slider could be the shower door for you! This traditional “bypass” style of door doesn’t get the same buzz as barn sliders these days, but they remain a great value option. If you’re upgrading from a shower curtain or getting rid of an outdated door, the Centec is an affordable sturdy replacement.

Did I say sturdy? Yep, I sure did. Our bypasses use heavy 3/8″ glass – not the flimsy stuff you’ll find at a big box store…

… and the Centec is completely customizable to your shower layout. We’ll do the measuring and installation so it’s just done, not a project that takes up your free time. During our consultation you can let us know if you want to upgrade the towel bars or change the hardware finish. Centec hardware finish options: brass/gold, chrome, brushed nickel, polished nickel, oil rubbed bronze, matte black. This blog post prompted some chat in the office about how cool a matte black Centec would be – etch some skulls in and you’ve got yourself a goth shower!

Okay, shower door friends, that’s it for this week but stay tuned for more awesome shower doors – and our favorite holiday of the year! February 5th is Shower with a Friend Day. (No really, it is!) We’ll be posting photos on Facebook and Instagram as always, and we love to hear from our clients and fans.

Acid Etched Shower Door in Greencastle PA

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Emily Watkins

Shower Door of the Week: Acid Etched Cambridge Unit in Greencastle, Pennsylvania

For those who prefer to keep the mystery alive, we present: acid etched shower doors!

This is our popular Cambridge double sliding unit, fully frameless for a stylish modern look. The client opted for completely acid etched glass. We also work with local artisans who can acid etch patterns into the glass, which I personally love. Partially etched glass, whether a privacy bar or funky pattern, is fun and also lets more light in. Some people prefer a “shower cave” especially in the morning, but you can also install additional lighting in the shower enclosure if you prefer privacy and a sunnier start to the day.

We really enjoy coming up with custom solutions to your showering visions! From a recent Google review from client Joanne: “The gal in the office who schedules the installation is super friendly and helpful.” That’s our Emmarose! She’s fantastic. (Don’t worry, she’s not writing this – hah hah – Emily is the blogger!) So if you’re in the greater Washington DC area – including our southern Pennsylvania friends! – give us a shout to talk options. You can also follow us on Facebook and/or Instagram for design inspiration and the fun things we get up to!

Getting A-round in Annapolis

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Emily Watkins

Shower Door of the Week: Rounded Operable Spray Panel in Annapolis, Maryland

New year, new shower door – check out the rounded corner on that spray panel! Technically, it’s a ’10” radius edge,’ if you want to sound like one of our experts. But whatever you call it, it’s pretty darn neat. From an interior design perspective, the rounded corner means the door is taking up less room. That makes the overall unit look bigger than it is. A solid solution to a small shower space.

The spray panel is operable, that is, it will swing out so you don’t have to shimmy yourself into the shower. The operable spray panel is hinged off the stationary panel with glass-to-glass hinges. Add in a square towel bar to match the squared shower head, and you’ve got yourself one cool little shower!

Interested in a new shower this year? Get in touch! We can get you a free quote quickly, so you can start to make plans…

Holy Smokes! Smoked Glass in Martinsburg

Posted on December 4, 2021December 4, 2021 by Emily Watkins

Shower Door of the Week: Smoked Glass in Martinsburg, West Virginia

These unique smoked glass showers caused a lot of excitement in the showroom this week! They were referred to as “The Blackout,” “glorious,” and “a bad mama jama.” Let’s take a look at the first shower…

Can we just bask for a minute in that dark grey glass against grey marbled tile? It’s stunning. Okay, the details. This corner unit has brushed nickel hardware, an obvious but excellent choice against the greys. It’s bright but in keeping with the minimalist frameless look. A smoked glass installation might be one time we wouldn’t recommend our beloved matte black hardware. We don’t want you fumbling around to find the shower door handle in the morning. But hey, if you want to go full goth black shower, we’re all in.

Light is one factor to consider with an acid-etched or smoked grey door. Again, we don’t judge. If you want a shower cave in the morning, you do you! If you want some extra light, though, consider installing lighting above or near the shower. A dimmer switch could also be a good investment if not everyone in the family loves the cave experience. Or…

Who needs a shower door? Wait, I haven’t run that concept by the marketing department. “Shower Not-Door Experts” doesn’t have the same oomph. But sometimes you don’t need the actual door. As Expert Schuyler notes, “These clients opted to go without a door on this bad mama jama.” With the lighting above and lack of door, it’s definitely a brighter experience overall. I also love all the textures they have going on – pebbles and marble with the grey tying it all together. Smoked glass is a trend I’d like to see a lot more of in 2022!

What do you think? Sooo hot? Too dark? Let us know over on Facebook and/or Instagram. We’ll also be posting some fun holiday content. You can follow along as Tom… I mean… Santa spreads showery joy around our service area. Hope your holiday season is off to a great start. Give us a shout if you’re thinking about kicking off 2022 with a hot mama jama of a shower door!

Full Height Corner in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Posted on September 29, 2021 by Emily Watkins

Shower Door of the Week: Full Height Corner Unit in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

It’s been awhile since we shared a photo from Pennsylvania! We’re located in Jefferson, Maryland – just outside Frederick. But our service area takes us to D.C., northern Virginia, the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, southern Pennsylvania, and of course most of Maryland. We get around! So keep your eyes peeled for one of our unique vans…

This shower of the week is a full height frameless corner unit. It looks fairly simple, but let’s take a look under the hood. Under the bath mat? Anyway, here are the details:

oil rubbed bronze hardware is a great match for the beige and lighter brown tones of the floor and tile
upgraded handle and robe hook – these are our Symphony handles, which add visual interest
low iron glass is more optically clear than regular glass, looks great against lighter tile colors
glass sealant that makes the glass a breeze to clean

We regularly get questions about cleaning shower door glass. So often that we created a handy blog post about it. The shorter version is that glass sealant fills the microscopic pores and ridges in your glass to prevent scum from accumulating in the first place. After that, your best friends are environmentally-friendly cleaner like Diamond Blue Wash and microfiber cloths. No scrubbing required!

Let us know if you have any questions about shower design, shower maintenance, best songs to listen to in the shower. We are, after all, the shower door experts! We’re over on Facebook and Instagram with behind-the-scenes pics and special offers. Hope to see you there – or maybe on the road in Pennsylvania…

Sandblasted Fade in New Market

Posted on September 3, 2021September 6, 2021 by Emily Watkins

Shower Door of the Week: Sandblasted Fade in New Market, Maryland

A sandblasted shower door is perfect for anyone who wants to shower without the “show”! Our friends over at Rowland Glass Studios do custom sandblasting, so you can request your perfect height. How cool is it to have privacy but still be able to see out? The un-blasted top also lets in more light, which is a plus. But you still might want to include lighting above the shower, as these clever clients chose to do.

That’s all for this week, but we do wish you a happy Labor Day weekend! We’re so grateful for all our hard-working experts, and for the customers who keep our small local family business thriving. 30 years of shower doors!

Drop us a line if you have any questions about shower doors or want to discuss why Sandblast Fade would be an awesome name for our company band. You can also get exclusive content over on our Facebook and Instagram.

Waldorf’s Phantom Shower

Posted on July 26, 2021July 26, 2021 by Emily Watkins

Shower Door of the Week: Phantom Unit in Waldorf, Maryland

The Phantom strikes again!

Me: Hey, Schuyler, what do you think of the Waldorf photo for Shower Door of the Week?

Schuyler: I don’t see it… nvm 🤦‍♂️ that bar is dang near invisible!

Noah: this may be the most phantom-y pic I’ve seen

Me: Did they even door??

Noah: 👻

With its extreme clarity and metallic silver tile, this shower unit is pure magic. So how did they achieve this gleaming sorcery?

The Phantom

This unit is a dual-sliding shower door with an innovative all-glass header system and clear acrylic stoppers. And these clients took minimalism to the next level by forgoing the standard towel bar. Instead, they opted for two chrome disc knobs that hardly show up against the silver tile.

The Glass

We never push for upgrades you don’t want, but these clients wisely invested in sealed low-iron glass. What does that mean? Low iron glass is more optically clear than regular glass. It doesn’t have that slight green tinge from the iron content. We usually recommend it for light-colored tile, especially, but you can see here how it preserves the pure silver tones too. And sealant? It helps reduce residue that leaves spots and streaks on your glass. It also makes routine maintenance easier – almost as if you have a phantom maid…?

Shower Singing

You know you want to…

Need to sing us a snippet? Or want to talk shower door design? Get in touch – we love a chat! Or follow along on Facebook and Instagram for inspiration and behind-the-scenes shenanigans…

Corner Upgrade in Fairfax

Posted on July 19, 2021July 19, 2021 by Emily Watkins

Shower Door of the Week: Frameless Corner Unit in Fairfax, Virginia

This week we are taking you on a journey from meh to fab! So many homes in our area built between the 1980s and 2000s have similar master bathroom layouts: a soaking tub adjacent to a shower stall. Often the corner shower has an ugly metallic frame. (Sorry, not sorry.) It’s a functional but outdated look. And that’s why this is our best-selling layout!

We put in a lot of frameless corner units like these when homeowners decide to refresh or remodel. It’s a solid investment, something you can enjoy every day and know will retain its value. Unless your clunky metal shower is actually made of gold, I guess. Then maybe keep the metal. Otherwise, frameless* is the future!

*Within the shower industry, “frameless” refers to any shower enclosure that doesn’t have metal adhered to the edge of the glass. Some people think frameless means no metal whatsoever. This is not the case. Frameless units can be virtually metal-free, except for clips on any stationary panels, hinges, and handle. But frameless also covers units that may have a header atop the unit and u-channel on the stationary panels.

For more upgrade inspiration, follow us over on Facebook and Instagram! If you’re ready to get started on our refresh journey, you can start a quote here on the website or get in touch for a chat. We are always, always down for a shower chat.

Category: Shower Door